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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555916">Cold Nights of February</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evian_99/pseuds/Evian_99'>Evian_99</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Heart-Eyed Alchemists [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ed and Winry can't be friends without others believing they're seeing love, Ed's automail acting up in the cold, Gen, Platonic Relationships, but they're really just best friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:01:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evian_99/pseuds/Evian_99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the cold nights of February that his automail acts up the most, and consequently also when he’s most frequently around Winry. Ed hears the rumours, he does, but he elects to ignore them. They know there’s nothing more than friendship between them, and that’s how they both like it best.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edward Elric &amp; Winry Rockbell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Heart-Eyed Alchemists [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cold Nights of February</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ed is in a foul mood. His shoulder has been bothering him ever since he left his apartment that morning, and he’s well and truly done with it. A vicious cold spell has kept Resembool hostage the past weeks, putting daily life at a pause and causing him to live in consistent misery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>No-one is working. Shops have been closed just like schools, and public transport hasn’t been running since the first snow fell a fortnight ago. That is, no-one except for the State Alchemists who’ve been forced to attend their duties as regular.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Not even the district leader’s inane sparring sessions have been cancelled: precisely what has brought him in this position. As Ed rolls to evade a rock, something in the port connecting his automail to his body snaps. Gnashing his teeth to keep from crying out, the blond goes into the offence.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>His sparring partner stands no chance.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>The moment the other yields, he gives an annoyed salute to the district leader, stalking from the training grounds with one mission in mind: finding Winry and forcing her to fix him.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He hears their whispers, he does, but he’s in too much pain to be bothered by it.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>When Ed enters the cafeteria thoroughly chastised by Winry, his mood is even fouler. She’s fixed his shoulder, but if he’d known the sheer pile of bull awaiting him the moment, he left his apartment again, he wouldn’t have bothered visiting her.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>There’s snow caked to his entire right side, courtesy of his metal leg giving up on him. The white crystals are steadily melting as he inhales his food, making him shiver and nearly sneeze. He doesn’t need a mirror to know his nose and cheeks are red.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>His glare at the two alchemists gossiping at the table in front of him doesn’t bear fruit. Their stolen glances at him are poorly hidden, and he knows from their expressions that he better leave before he does something stupid and gets chewed out again by Roy.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>‘Oi, Elric!’ the lankiest of the two calls, but Ed merely flips him off. Leaving his food for what it is, he quickly strides from the room. He feels rather proud of himself.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>That is, until a metal plate in his leg locks and he falls flat onto his face. Right in front of the shiny shoes of one Roy Mustang.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Dammit</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>It is one hell of an irritated Ed who limps through the snow-laden streets of Resembool. His iconic red coat flaps around him, like the bright frogs in the rain forests warning everyone gazing upon it that he’s poisonous and will bite.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Oh, how much he would give for someone to chase away the cold.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Two young women pass by him. They give one look at his face before blushing and giggling amongst each other. He only slightly narrows his eyes in confusion, until they narrow to a proper glare when he overhears a muttered mumble saying: ‘Winry’.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>It happens again when he makes it to the entrance of the engineer’s home. He impatiently raps his fist against the door but knows that if she’s immersed in an inventing spree it can take a bit for her to pull herself away.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>An elderly lady spots him and smiles radiantly at him. As she slowly passes him on the sidewalk, she pats him on his shoulder. ‘Young love’, she sighs, and Ed finds himself sputtering indignantly.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>She doesn’t seem at all bothered, however, and happily continues her way. His face is beet red when Winry finally does manage to open the door and usher him inside.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He tells her about all the incidents while she tinkers away at his automail and feels only a little disgruntled at how funny she finds it all. Looking up when her hand is placed on his shoulder, he mellows when she says: ‘We know the truth, that’s all that matters, doesn’t it?’</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>She’s right in that, as she always is. ‘I know,’ he says, ‘It’s just…’ Ed shakes his head and shrugs. He will just have to ignore the whispers until the cold spell ends and pray for his automail to be merciful to him.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>There hasn’t been anything other than deep platonic love between them, and that’s how he likes it best.</span>
  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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